When Afroman recorded "Because I Got High" in 2000, it became a stoner anthem almost instantly. It was the kind of song that inspired kids to roll up a joint, roll down their windows, and aimlessly drive around blasting it from their car stereos. Now, 14 years later, Afroman has just released a new version of "Because I Got High"—and, weirdly, it's kind of political.The new version is a collaboration between Weedmaps and NORML, two pro-marijuana organizations for which Afroman is the new "brand ambassador." The music video, released today, features Afroman rolling through Los Angeles on a couch with wheels, his afro somewhat graying, his eyes heavy-lidded, while he raps about the benefits of smoking weed:
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Smelled a cannabis aroma, and I got high
Glaucoma’s getting better, and I know why (why, man?)
Because I got high, because I got high, because I got highThe drug is clearly Afroman's kryptonite—and, in his original song, caused everything from blue balls to paraplegia—but it's been totally rebranded in the new version. It's like Afroman is heading weed's PR team. The new verses preach about going to college, quitting alcohol abuse, and funding state schools… because he got hiiiiiiigh.Kat Smith, CMO of Weedmaps, told me that they've aligned the music video's release with the upcoming ballot initiatives involving marijuana (Alaska, Oregon, and Washington DC are voting on full legalization in November; Florida is voting for medical marijuana). “Right now, we're really looking at this as a 'legalization anthem,' and we hope it brings people out to the vote for the November elections," said Smith. "Afroman spreads the good love about marijuana and how it can inspires you to do cool things.”Screencap via Afroman's official Facebook page"This is a well-known anthem that is very famous across generations," Sabrina Fendrick, spokesperson for NORML, told me. "It’s something we’ve all kind of grown up with. It just seemed like a really good opportunity to challenge the old stereotype."If there’s anyone to “rebrand” marijuana, Afroman is kind of a questionable choice. He's a high school dropout who, all things considered, fits the classic "stoner" stereotype perfectly. But then again, maybe marijuana doesn’t need critical rebranding. Even Martha Stewart knows how to roll joints these days.
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Write 'em a check, I guess, but then I got high
They took off my underwear, and I know why
Because I got high, because I got highIf the original version cast a negative light on lighting up, this version wasn't any better. Not only did the song highlight a whole new set of weed-induced disasters, but the song opens with the sound of Afroman and friends crunching on Doritos and some weed-induced coughing, and includes some truly nonsensical lyrics, like “A E I O U and sometimes W, because I'm high, because I'm high, because I'm high." (What?)Afroman, flush with fame from a decade ago, was lost in a cloud of marijuana smoke. He was still playing shows, coasting on his fame from the decade prior. Then, in 2011, Afroman was booked to play a concert in Columbus, Ohio. He never showed up to play. (Why? Do I have to spell it out to you?! Because he got high.) The concert venue served him lawsuit papers on 4/20.Photo by Jesus HernandezBut it seems that, since then, Afroman has turned over a new leaf. He lives in Ohio these days, where marijuana is not yet legal but could be on a ballot soon thanks to a burgeoning legalization movement in the state. There, life is more mellow and he can spend his time churning out music. A forthcoming album, called The N-Word, will shift the focus from lighting up and having a good time so that he can focus on other issues. In one song, "Call Me Something Good," he literally raps a history of the N-word:The N-word is traced to the Latin word Niger
The noun we know, the Spanish word negro
The southern mispronounciation occurred
And that was the birth of the N-wordI'd say that's a surprisingly lucid oral history for a rap song.Afroman also mentioned to me that he has 17 unreleased albums, which he said he's "stockpiled so that I'd never run out." If he really does have that much music piled up somewhere, it looks like we'll have years and years of Afroman's music to look forward to, because he got… well, you know.Follow Arielle Pardes on Twitter.